The present invention generally relates to chewing gum. More specifically, the present invention relates to chewing gums including aspartame.
It is of course known to prepare chewing gum including a variety of different ingredients. Some of these ingredients are used to add a flavor or sweetness to the chewing gum. One of the difficulties encountered in adding certain ingredients to chewing gum is that they are vulnerable to degradation.
One of the ingredients that has been recently added to chewing gum formulations are high intensity sweeteners. One such high intensity sweetener is aspartame. Aspartame is a sweetener that has been approved for use in food products including chewing gum in the United States and many different countries. One of the difficulties in using aspartame in chewing gum is that it is vulnerable to degradation; upon exposure to moisture, aspartame will degrade.
Another ingredient that has been used in chewing gum products is sodium bicarbonate or baking soda. Sodium bicarbonate provides chewing gum with dental health benefits. These benefits include possible tooth whitening.
Generally, sodium bicarbonate containing chewing gums are sugarless. Thus, these gums may desirably include aspartame. However, when chewing gum including sodium bicarbonate is provided due to its higher pH, the aspartame becomes less stable in the product. Indeed, the greater amount of sodium bicarbonate used in the formula, the lower the stability of the aspartame in the formula. This results in a chewing gum product wherein the aspartame degrades. Thus, although desirable, such chewing gum products including sodium bicarbonate and aspartame are very problematic.